Over at the young papist’s place, on Catholic Vote, Tom Peters is forming a list of US bishops who have responded to Pres. Obama’s blatant attack on the 1st Amendment and on religious liberty when while he openly refuses to fulfill his responsibility under the Constitution to uphold federal law in DOMA.

If we look at how the American episcopate has been changing in the last 10-15 years, I think we can take heart. But we still need to pray for our bishops. And pray relentlessly. Consider how at the time of the Notre Shame debacle, 80+ bishops protested that cringing bit of pandering to the most aggressively pro-abortion president we have ever seen. 5 years before, the number of bishops in protest would have been unthinkable. Today there are even more bishops reacting and the count is not complete.

In any event, at the time of this writing,

171

US Bishops have been reported to have reacted with strength against Pres. Obama’s determination to force Catholics to violate their consciences in a way that contradicts our Catholic Faith and the clear moral teachings of Holy Church. Amish and Quakers get waivers from some federal mandates. Not Catholics.

Here is Peters’ list. I will try to update it as well: Peters wrote “If I have missed anyone please let me know in the comments!” So, let HIM know. It is better if one person is forming a master list, and this is even more in his bailiwick than it is in mine.

Statements from 8 bishops have not yet been located. Perhaps they have been missed or haven’t yet been posted in a clear place on a diocesan website.

SPECIAL MENTION: “The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in North America just issued a formal statement of protest against the HHS mandate in which the Assembly, representing all 53 Orthodox bishops in North America, references their complete agreement with the statements of the USCCB.”

UPDATE: Of the 183 dioceses (by my count) in the U.S. who have a bishop currently serving as its head, 169 of them have issued statements. So 92% of bishops who head dioceses have spoken out against the Obama/HHS mandate.

NOTE: If you would like a statement by an Eastern Rite bishop to be included please send me [PETERS!] the link/document or post it in the comments! Thank you. I’m trying to provide documentation for all the bishops I list and Eastern Rite bishops have been harder for me to find. Thanks for the understanding!

UPDATE:

Don’t send updates to ME, send them to Peters… as I requested. Please read the entry, above. Thanks!

In a way, though, I’m rather out off by the opposition the bishops have thus far mustered; and it’s a shame so many Catholics are excited by “Bishops attack Obama!!1!” without looking to the details of the attack.

The bishops nearly all speak of a dilemma: either we violate our conscience or violate our obligation (or something very near to it) to provide federal health insurance. How about a third option—one we all talked about before the bishops ever got themselves into this mess—in which the entirety of PPACA / “Obamacare” violates federal constitutional principles? They wouldn’t be in this dilemma of their own making if they had cared about and respected those principles.

I am proud to see my former bishop, Bishop Amos, of the Davenport Diocese give such a straight-forward and excellent response, complete with what the laity can do to stop this abomination. God bless all these good men, and let us pray for those who are not on the list above.

I’m very proud to see all 3 of “my” bishops on the list, from the 3 dioceses I’ve lived in, and that at least 2 of the 3, according to the boldface designation, had their letters read in all parishes. I can confirm that wasn’t the case in mine. Not a peep, and I wonder how many of my fellow parishioners have even heard of this yet.

Still, across the board, I wonder if the Obama administration underestimated the response here.

Also, the USCCB and its member bishops would NOT be in this dilemma, which is one they themselves created, if they had not consistently given cover for proabort “catholic” politicians, and pushed for universal healthcare and illegal immigration, and every other pipe dream from the DNC>

MAYBE, if they stop acting like the religious arm of the Party of Death, then maybe they would have some credibility.

Sorry, but I blame the bishops for this mess- they knew with whom they were dealing and stood back and allowed it to happen. Yet, they claim to be surprised by this most heathen of administrations! Who are they trying to kid this time? How about excommunciating Sebelius and Pelosi, et al? THAT would be a great start to restoring their credibility.

As I had guessed, my bishop is NOT on the list. I will contact the diocese today. I was glad to see that Bishops Amos and Nickless of Iowa are on the list. I pray that Archbishop Hanus will join his brother bishops!

I agree with you, but we must allow for repentance and a change of heart. The wolf in the sheep’s clothing has shed his outer skin, which some of us saw as fake and some did not. Let us just pray that it is not too late, as I fear it is.

Wow, how many Iowans read and comment on this blog? We must be a sizable minority. I shall pray for your archbishop. I understand. There is a long history of Americanism as The Heresy in the Diocese of Dubuque. God bless you and him.

Sad to say the leader of our diocese, Bishop Tod Brown, is not on the list. A quick look at the diocese web site shows they’re far more interested in trumpeting their purchase of the Crystal Cathedral.

I see my Bishop in Syracuse is on the list, but not a hide nor hair from the two on either side of us (Hubbard and Clark).
SonofMonica-wow, that 18-year-old has got guts to say what he said! More power to him! And thanks for posting this!
And thanks too to the ‘young papist’ for providing this list!

Bishop Robert Cunningham’s letter was excellent. It was clear and concise and explained the situation in a way that could leave nobody with doubt about the seriousness of this. I have to say that even I was enlightened by the way he explained it. I was pleasantly surprised, since contraception is an issue that is almost NEVER discussed in our diocese. I’ve always had the impression that they tiptoe around it because they don’t want to offend the large number of “Catholics” who do contracept. Same thing with divorce/remarriage, cohabitation, etc. Sigh. I guess that’s what happens when your diocese is struggling financially.

I’ve been unable to find a better link, so far. This is normally the sort of thing that would be included in church bulletins, so I assume it must have been a timing issue. I hope my bishop’s strong stance on this is an indication of things to come.

Why is everyone shocked that Obama made this preemptive strike in the first place–he knew he could get away with it!!Let’s see–virtual silence by the Church’s shepherds and ministers for the last 50 years or more on Church doctrine concerning marriage, contraception and abortion. As the late Dr. Bernard Nathanson said abortion would not have become the law of the land had not the Catholic Church hierarchy here been asleep at the wheel. 90% or more American Catholics contracept and abortion rates for US Catholic women approximate the national average as do divorce rates. Notre Dame gave him a stamp of approval. His administration is full of Catholic synchopants as is his party’s congressional delegation with mostly silence on their bishops’ part. It had to come to this….WHY THE SURPRISE AND SHOCK!!?

I live in the Austin, TX diocese, and the letter was apparently read at all the other (NO) Masses in our parish. It was inadvertently omitted, ironically, at our EF Mass. (We had a visiting priest celebrating Mass for us this past Sunday, so that may have contributed to the confusion.) Most of the people who attend the EF Mass are on an email mailing list, so someone made sure the letter was sent to everyone on the list.

Hopefully, the Bishops will take this opportunity to go on offense…. and actively re-evangelize the faithful. But I am also hopefull that the remaining Ordinaries will join this “battle” as soon as possible.

This is great news. So, is Sebelius’ excommunication in the mail, or is this just talk? It’s got to be one or the other. This is more acute than the more generalized question of what to do with someone like Pelosi; you can’t say that DHHS is at war with the Church AND that DHHS’ leader is a Catholic in good standing, and if the bishops fail to excommunicate her, that IS their position.

@ mamajen:
Yes! Small world, indeed! What part of the Syracuse Diocese are you from?
I’m from the ‘borderline’ in the eastern part (hint: it’s the hometown of our soon-to-be canonized [and still ‘Blessed’] Mother Marianne Cope).
I haven’t read Bishop Cunningham’s letter yet-I’ll have to go over to the diocesan website and see it.
I’ve only seen His Excellency ‘in person’ only once, at a “Men In Black’ soccer match in 2010. Didn’t go up to him….I’m rather shy around ‘important people’ and I was afraid I’d say something stupid….

Please, keep (or start) praying for your own bishop. In my case, it’s adding prayers for my diocesan bishop at the end of my daily Rosary: Pater, Ave, Gloria Patri, as we pray for the Pope’s intentions.
Pre Summorum Pontificum, I wrote the bishop to request the TLM and wanted to say in the letter that I was praying for him. But I realized I wasn’t, so I started praying, and held off sending the letter until I was truly praying for him. I’m very happy to see my bishop on this list.

I realize that Bishop Pates of Des Moines is listed, but that is very weak. I don’t think that it’s so much from HIM as it is from the chancery. There is no letter and there is nothing with his name attached. All there are, are links to the USCCB.

As I am one who often assists at Holy Mass in Des Moines, I am disappointed that this is more of regurgitation of the USCCB, as opposed to a strong and decisive statement from His Excellency. The faithful in Des Moines are clamoring for his leadership. A personally written letter is not too much to ask….but alas it seems that Bishop Pates is more interested in the economy….

@irishgirl… I’m about 25 miles east of Syracuse. (I wouldn’t mind telling you exactly, but in case there are other people from my parish lurking I’d rather they not draw conclusions about who I am). Wonderful to know that there is another reader in my area! Hopefully there are lots more who simply haven’t commented.

“You may be aware through the media that the federal government is issuing rules requiring Catholic institutions to provide contraceptive coverage in our insurance plans for our employees. These new requirements are set to take effect next year. I am sending you the link to Archbishop Dolan’s fine Op-Ed piece that ran this week in the Wall Street Journal. Click here to read.”

Nothing in bulletins or from pulpit. This strikes me as a neutral, noninflammatory tone and says nothing!

I’m glad to see my bishop, Bishop Burbidge of Raleigh on the list. I am thankful he wrote a letter, but it wasn’t read at Mass this weekend, and it only asks us to contact our legislators. If that worked, we wouldn’t have Obamacare in the first place.

Legisperitus,
I have meet Bp Cordileone twice, attended Mass where he insitituted the ministiries of lector and acylotye. He has ordained a priest in the EF for the FSSP and has made a number of advancements in Oakland, and as far as I can tell much beloved by his seminarians ( which means something in this day and age). I would give the good bishop the benefit of the doubt and not smirk his name.

mamajen: I quite understand about your not divulging where you live in the Syracuse. I’m cool with that. That’s why I didn’t give my exact location, either.
Wonder how many other people in the Syracuse diocese are Father Z readers?
I’d love to have him come up here for a blognic….and maybe take him to visit Mother Marianne’s shrine!
I’m glad that Bishop Cunningham has added his voice to object to the evil designs of Obama and his minions!

While I agree, Holy Souls Hermitage, that the document in item 36 does permit providing medicines which seem questionable, it would be better to present the actual wording:“Compassionate and understanding care should be given to a person who is the victim
of sexual assault. Health care providers should cooperate with law enforcement officials and
offer the person psychological and spiritual support as well as accurate medical information. A
female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from
the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred
already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation,
or fertilization. It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as
their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction, or interference with the implantation of a
fertilized ovum.”
I do not see in the article cited the phrase “emergency contraception”, as your use of quotes suggested. What I do see is that the document requires that there be ” no evidence that conception has occurred already” . I have no idea how practical it is to establish that, as I am not a medical professional.
I do think they ventured down the slippery slope in approaching this, but I rather suspect it to have been worded in reference to requirements specified under existing Federal regs.

Our Bishops wrote the letters but nothing has been mentioned at any of the Masses. Perhaps they will this Sunday.
Given the unprecedented attack on our faith I was shocked to see the timing of the following request from the American bishops on….. food security and climate change! Whatever happened to fasting for “conversion of sinners and the liberty and triumph of the Church”?

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking Catholics to “fast” on Friday, February 3, by limiting their food spending to the allotment on the USDA Modified Thrifty Food Plan–about $18 for a family of four.

The theme of the February First Fridays for Food Security initiative is food insecurity and climate change. “Food insecurity is also a serious problem globally and is often intensified by climate change,” states a USCCB flyer. “According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, climate change will significantly affect the availability of water for growing food and for crop production globally. This will disproportionately affect poor people in rural areas whose livelihoods are closely connected to agriculture and natural resources.”

“I apologize indeed if this is true. But then how to explain this latest document?”

How about explaining it as an effort by your bishop to encourage the worthy and dignified reception of the Holy Eucharist, which is how I read it. Nowhere in his statement did I read that Bishop Cordileone had “forbidden” communicants from kneeling. He merely explained that standing was the normal posture of the communicant, and explained why. He did mention that it might cause difficulties to kneel while everyone else is standing, as it might cause a person in the communion line (who wouldn’t be expecting the person ahead of him to kneel) to trip.

Our bishop issued a statement that was not read at either of the two diocesan EF Masses I attended on Sunday. I wonder if he issued it later in the week. Perhaps. I’ll listen for it this week.

An Obama spokesman -when asked – said today that they do not plan to change this policy. Of course they plan to “work” in the coming year with the groups affected in order to impliment the policy.
They are nothing if not arrogant.

Bishop Malone of the diocese of Portland, ME has not only required that his letter be in every bulletin, but was read from the pulpit at every Mass. He has also made a statement that is broadcast on the EWTN affiliate radio station. Bishop Malone might not be as receptive to the TLM as I would like (2 in the entire state), but last year he came out strongly against the Same Sex Marriage vote, organized drives, wrote a letter that was read aloud, etc and it went down to defeat. Of course, the gay marriage folks are up for round 3 again this fall.

My Bishop is not on the list, however, I am not surprised…
However, my holy, orthodox priest gave a rousing, excellent Homily regarding this last weekend anyway. He did a great job!
If only our dear Holy Father would appoint our new Bishop. I have been praying for the retiring Bishop for a long time and also am praying for the new one, whoever he will be.

Here is a list of the bishops who have NOT made a statement (according to a comment at Catholic Vote). Some of them I have never heard of. The ones in bold I was not at all surprised to find on the list (although I hoped that Cardinal George had spoken up already). Either way, I’m sure they all have emails.

This does not sound like +Cordileone at all. I have been to 5 of his Masses, received communion from him each time kneeling. Indeed one Mass was a solemn Mass from the Throne with ordination of a priest in the old rite said at St. Jarlath’s. Another was another EF Solemn Mass from the Throne. Yet another was an EF Missa Cantata for first Friday. A fourth as a low pontifical Mass in the EF, with the EF form of confirmation. These three said an Margaret Mary And the fifth was a Latin Novus Ordo that followed a Solemn Mass in the EF said by the FSSP at Thomas Aquinas College. The bishop himself, when the servers started arranging the altar for facing the people, stopped them and insisted on ad orientem

Does he sound like a liturgical liberal to anyone? People are really quick to label and attack bishops. I find that disheartening. The matter you bring up is not even related.

+Cordileone is a very traditional, orthodox bishop for all my encounters with him can testify, both at Mass and outside. I know he is doing a lot to fix certain issues in his diocese (Berkeley is in his diocese). Though I won’t mention specific, as I believe they are not all public for good reason. He is challenging certain old guards, especially in education.

irishgirl and mamajen I lived in the Syracuse Diocese for 3 years, but recently moved to the archdiocese of Saint Paul/Minneapolis. I watched Bishop Cunningham’s installation Mass on the local channel. I actually was a parishioner of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, so I got to be at a lot of his Excellency’s Masses. (They were really enjoyable especially after he got his current MC).
Though the Easter(?) before Bishop Cunningham was installed, the auxiliary bishop (must have been bshp. Costello) gave the homily (the poor man had trouble standing and moving around the stairs), but he gave the most forceful and best homily about the Eucharist I have ever heard. If you ever get a chance to hear him give a homily you should take it. It looks like the Scared Heart Basilica still has a EF Mass on Sundays despite the passing of the Monsignor there. I am so happy for the Syracuse diocese that they have such a Holy mas as their bishop. I do wonder though, how many of his priests actually complied with his instructions.

@Salvatore_Giuseppe, I too am not surprised that Bishop John Kinney of Saint Cloud, MN is not on the list. I went to school up there at a certain university in Collegeville, MN. The one of the few ‘student’ Masses I attended, he was the celebrant, and he skipped the creed (and it wasn’t replaced with anything).

FOR LEGISPERITUS: In response to your above comment, I contacted the Bishop’s office and advised him of the instruction in the new GIRM, dated June 2011. Below is his response which I received from Bishop Cordileone’s Vicar. It appears he has modified his instruction accordingly:

QUOTE:
For the record, the complete quote from my instruction is: ”Receiving Communion kneeling, or genuflecting before receiving, while often motivated by the praiseworthy desire to show greater respect to the Most Blessed Sacrament, is not in keeping with the proper liturgical norms for the United States” (emphasis on the last four words).

This instruction reflects the GIRM in force at that time, which states (stated): “The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm.”

This norm in the GIRM was changed with the new English translation of the Roman Missal was changed to the following: “The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004, no. 91)” (n. 160).

Thus, my instruction accurately reflects the law in force at the time it was issued. This change in the GIRM has very recently been brought to my attention, and I will make the appropriate change in my instruction once I have had the opportunity to present it to the priests next month.

By the way, the new norm cites RS 91, but this does not state exactly the same thing. RS 91 states: “… it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing.” This wording is actually more in keeping with the previous norm in the GIRM than the recently changed current one. At any rate, I was happy to learn of this change and to make the aforementioned change in my instruction.
UNQUOTE

Sword40: At last check, I do not see Card. George on the list. I have been watching for that to appear in an update, to no avail. If I knew of a site where I could get a list of the bishops on one page, I would do some sorting and sifting, and come up with the MIA list.

Sword40: I had overlooked the short list. However, there are 16 bishops on it. 153+16=169. That leaves 14 dioceses. If there are 10 dioceses without seated bishops, then we would need to account for 10 apostolic administrators, of whom I count 6, and a remainder of 4 bishops not appearing in either list.

Thank you, Salvatore, for that information. You may now scratch Bishop Richard Garcia of the Diocese of Monterey CA from the list. It was announced at mass this morning that he has issued a statement in support of the resistance to the diktat. What prayer will accomplish!

The left’s cover on this is already clear—this isn’t a flap among Catholics, because there are plenty of “catholics” who support it (“Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) pushed back against conservative criticism…. O’Malley, who said he was a Catholic” etc.). No, no. This isn’t a Catholic uproar—this is just upoar among the bishops. That’s going to be the line. They’ll wheel out Sixth Sense catholics like O’Malley, Joe Biden, Xavier Becerra, et al, to insist that they support the administration, and insist that the bishops are simply “the hierarchy” who are out of touch with and unrepresentative of their congregations—the latter being the real church. After the announcement, a few pundits argued that the move would finally force the left to abandon the administration. At the time, I said that was “optimistic,” and now I think we can safely downgrade the prediction to “naive.”

And the bishops will back up the administration’s narrative by failing to excommunicate any of the supposed catholics running and defending what the bishops call a war on the Church. In the last analysis, public scandal requires the collusion of activist heretics and passivist bishops.

Bishop Burbidge of Raleigh’s letter was surprisingly strong worded for him. I know he has received the episcopal backbone award on here before, but in recent years he has mastered “bishopese” and his letter’s now normally follow the template of ” Brothers and sisters, we celebrate this week of X. Pray for me. Pray for our new cathedral project. Did I mention our new cathedral project?”

All in all..just a thought…wondering if Fr. Jenkins at ND is having second thoughts yet.? Imagine that…granting (albeit honorary) degree (was it a JD?) to someone who is publicly and gleefully managing to trash the basis for our legal system.

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